Premonitions
by RinoaLnhrt
Summary: Rinoa is having troubling dreams, which seem too real to be her imagination. Meanwhile, Seifer is back in Garden, SeeD missions aren't happening often enough, and there are rumors of a group whose aim is to revive Ultimecia. RR...please? .
1. Prologue

_Where are you?_ she thought, gazing across the empty field. _We were supposed to meet here... _It was starting to get late, and she could only worry more as the moments crept by slowly. The field in which she was standing, which was normally full of flowers throughout most of the year, was cold underneath her boots. The slightly frosted ground that appeared each morning and the bare trees were signs that the seasons were changing, and another fall would fade into a cold winter. The sky was clear but for a few clouds, the light of the stars and moon illuminating the terrain.

As she turned around though, her surroundings suddenly dissolved from around herself and were replaced with a large and mostly empty room. She looked around, puzzled, and from what she could see she guessed she was in some sort of office. But unlike an office, it had no windows. Only a desk, behind and in front of which sat chairs, all empty of any signs that someone had been there recently. As she looked around more, she noticed she could hear faint clashing sounds coming from outside of the room accompanied by cries of pain, as if a battle were going on. She turned and walked to the door quickly, very confused, but just as she reached for the handle the door was thrust open, but instead of hitting her, it went right through her. She blinked in surprise as a man walked in, followed by three other men, one of which was struggling wildly.

The first man who'd walked in had calmly made his way to the front of his desk, watching the other three men. As she looked over at the three men he was watching, she started as she recognized the struggling man in the middle. The two men who were clearly trying to restrain him were having a lot of difficulty, but they'd already bound his hands and gagged him. Normally he would have been able to get himself out, but for some reason he held back. His eyes showed a great deal of emotional pain and hopelessness, emotions she knew he normally would never show. He was already wounded but they'd apparently been healed, though the fresh blood splotches and rips in his clothing showed how badly the extent of his injuries had been. Blood clotted his dark brown hair and stained the pendant around his neck, and the left sleeve of his jacket was barely still attached, revealing the bloodstained and torn sleeve of his white t-shirt. She ran forward to his side, but as she tried to push the men away from him, her hands went through them as easily as the door had gone through her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she tried vainly to push them away from the bloodied man.

The two men forced the man into the chair in front of the first man who'd walked into the room, and held him down as he tried to get up. The man pointed an object that strongly resembled a gun at the struggling man's forehead. He said something, but she couldn't hear what it was. Whatever it had been made the man freeze, then very reluctantly stop struggling. He hung his head down low as the two men slowly ungagged him. He said something, and though she tried to hear, she still couldn't hear any of their voices clearly at all, so all she could do was still and watched frightenedly. The man holding the gun smirked, saying something. The man in the chair shook his head slightly, and the other man aimed the gun at him and fired. She cried out, and just before the bullet hit his head she distinctly heard him say "I'm sorry..." All she saw was a lone tear on the side of his face as he slumped forward, and the vision disappeared from around her.

"NO!"

Rinoa Heartilly sat bolt upright in her bed, already crying nigh uncontrollably. She'd been having similar dreams for almost two weeks, but it still made her cry just as hard each time. Each time she'd be in the middle of another dream when it would suddenly fade into that horrible nightmare. She drew her knees up and buried her face into them, slowly forcing herself to stop crying. She knew something like that would never happen, especially not to Squall, but she couldn't help but to feel like the recurring dream meant something. It felt too real to not mean something, and it had gone on too long. She hadn't told any of her friends about it, especially not Squall. As much as she trusted all of them, she didn't want them to think, or rather know, she was afraid of a dream.

She felt a slight pressure on her mattress, and something cold and wet nudged her elbow. Opening her eyes, she turned her head enough to see what it was, and couldn't help but to smile as she saw her dog watching her, his eyes confused and concerned.

"Come on Angelo..." said Rinoa, glancing out the window to see that the sun was starting to rise. "I'll take you for a walk around the Quad. I bet it's nice out." He barked in response, and she got out of bed. She went into the bathroom that was connected to her room and changed into her clothes. She then grabbed Angelo's leash and hooked it onto his collar, opening the door to the room and walking out.

As Rinoa walked along the hallway leading from the dormitories to the Quad, she thought back over recent events to try to get her mind off of the dream that she had had. She often did this, trying to focus on happy memories to dull the sharp ones of the constant nightmares she'd had. So she thought of the outing to Balamb town that she had been dragged on the other day by her two closest friends, Selphie and Quistis. Zell had come along as well, and so had Irvine, but the girls had separated themselves from them as soon as possible. ("It'll be a girl's day out!" Selphie had excitedly explained.) The day had been spent fishing, talking about the newest 'Weapons Monthly' magazine (though for Rinoa, she hadn't really had need of a weapon for over two years, but she liked to keep hers up to date), and shopping in the few various small shops that had sprouted up in the town over the past few years of peace.

As much as she tried to focus on the good time she had had that day, her mind apparently wanted to focus on that dream she had. It was unpleasant to think about it really. She had the bad feeling in the pit of her belly that told her it wasn't something to be ignored. It confused her, and forced her to question what might happen in the future, something she didn't think about often at all as she kept to her notion that nothing was guaranteed to or not to happen.

She looked up as she reached the Quad, smiling a bit at the beauty of the Balamb sunrise. She knelt down to unhook Angelo from his leash, preferring to let him run around since she knew he wouldn't go far. She walked over to the railing on the side of the Quad and leaned against it. _I wonder if it does mean anything..._ she thought, gazing out into the sunrise_. But I don't know that place...wherever it is, it's somewhere I haven't seen before. And I don't think Squall would let himself be..._ she shuddered involuntarily as the image of him slumped over in a chair, bleeding from his skull uncontrollably, popped into her head. _Wait...I could hear him say something this time though. That's different than before...does that mean something changed? Is it more likely now or something? Or am I making too big of a deal over nothing? I don't know..._ she smiled slightly, leaning against the railing more. _I'm thinking too much...I think I've been around Squall too long._

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A/N: I know it's short, but it's just a prologue. This is revised from my old prologue, using advice from some of my old readers. Please review if you liked it, disliked it, have advice/constructive criticism, feel like saying something random, anything! ^.^


	2. Chapter 1

Somewhat long A/N: I owe you guys an apology, all 43 of you who read, and those three of you who reviewed. Life got rather...annoying. [cut out the various reasons for chapter posting hiatus]

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy, or any of the characters in this chapter. Just the events and storyline.

Chapter 1

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A dark-haired man sat behind a desk in a small office in the wee hours of the morning, his head bent forward over an open folder. He didn't seem bored, yet he didn't seem entertained either. His face was expressionless, his cool grey-blue eyes scanning over what proved to be the most ridiculous request for SeeD he'd ever read or even heard of. He sighed, placing the papers he'd taken out of the folder back in, then tossed it into the garbage can beside his desk without looking at it a second time. Things in the world had been relatively calm lately. Ever since the cleanup of the Lunar Cry a few years ago, and the reshaping of the governments of both Galbadia and Timber, there hadn't been many requests for SeeD, which made the young Commander restless. The most interesting one recently was a civil war breaking out in Dollet, but that was solved quickly enough.

Squall looked around for a moment, thinking over the past few years. Just the day after they'd returned from defeating Ultimecia, he and the others, as well as several other SeeDs, had been sent on various missions. Even Rinoa and Irvine, who were not SeeDs, participated. First and probably most importantly, was the cleaning up (or in a less pleasant-sounding term; extermination) of the monsters that had fallen during the Lunar Cry. It took quite a while, but they got the job done within a couple weeks. Then, several SeeDs were hired as bodyguards and peacekeepers while the nations of Galbadia and Timber reconstructed themselves. For the next few years, there were a few cases where SeeD intervention was absolutely needed, but other than that, nothing big had happened. Garden was now left sending its SeeDs on small missions, just enough to keep gil coming in and to keep the military academy functioning.

He pondered over the fact that his life recently had become quite uneventful. He'd gotten too used to going out and going on missions with everyone, and even though they weren't numerous anymore, there had been some interesting ventures. But for the past few months, there had been nothing. He scanned the room, looking for a means by which to keep himself occupied. Spotting a newspaper that had probably been brought in by Xu the previous day, he picked it up and began skimming the most interesting-looking article.

"Numerous sightings of Hexadragons have been reported along the Monterosa Plateau in Galbadia. No attacks have been witnessed, but still researchers say this could prove to be a danger in the future. This comes as a shock to most, as the migratory patterns of Hexadragons..."

He set it down at that point. If there was something worth reading, he figured it would most likely be on the front page. If the only article that looked like it was worth reading was about the migrating habits of Hexadragons, there was no point in reading. Squall stood up, walking over to the one window his office had. He folded his arms, peering out at the sky. The sun was almost starting to rise, and the horizon was beginning to lighten. He didn't know why he'd woken up so early. Normally he at least slept another hour or so.

Without warning, he felt a twinge of nervousness that made him twitch. No, more than nervousness. It was only there for a second, but for that second he felt a sense of panic. His immediate thought was Rinoa, and he was about to turn to go to her, but then he just shook his head. _She's safe in her bed_. He thought. _So is everyone else in their right mind._

He sighed, casting a glance over towards the clock on the wall. _06:11...The T-Rexaurs should be waking up around now. There's nothing left to do here._ With that thought, he walked over towards the door, picking up Lionheart and resting it on his shoulder as he began his treck towards the Training Center.

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As the day progressed, the activities of Balamb Garden went on as they usually did. Students attended their classes, while SeeDs trained, studied, or relaxed. In a certain blond, tattooed SeeD's case, most days were best spent racing to the front of the Cafeteria line to stock up on hotdogs before they were sold out. This early afternoon was different for Zell Dincht though. He was in the front of the line, sure enough, but he wasn't getting his usual stack of hotdogs. Instead, he was having a very heated debate with the Cafeteria lady and Dr. Kadowaki, more specifically the doctor.

"Aw come on! They're not that bad for me!" he was saying loudly. Dr. Kadowaki was standing with her arms folded, her eyes narrowed and a solid 'I know better than you do and you will listen to me no matter what' expression on her face. The lady who stood behind the counter looked like she was at a loss for words, watching the exchange of comments between the SeeD and the doctor.

"They aren't when eaten in moderation. But when you consume more than seven in one sitting-"

"Five!" Zell interrupted, his tone indignant. "I only have five in a meal!" This comment made Dr. Kadowaki sigh in exasperation.

"No, Zell. Enough is enough. Your test results for cholesterol level during your last physical were high, and your addiction to hotdogs is the only thing I can link it with. Making sure the students here stay healthy is my job, and yes, the SeeDs too." She put one finger out towards him, in the manner that a parent scolding a young child would. "You're limited to one hotdog every two days, if you have to have them at all. Stick with vegetables and fruits and whole grains, and we'll see how that does." Zell opened his mouth in protest, but Dr. Kadowaki cut him off. "No buts! If your cholesterol level improves, you can have one hotdog a day. No more seven hotdog meals! And if I catch you disobeying me, I'll make a chart with the foods you can eat on it and give it to the Cafeteria staff, and they'll make sure not one bite of whatever is in that meat gets into your system." She glared at him threateningly for a few seconds, and before he could protest further, she turned and walked out of the room.

The lunch lady looked at Zell now, who looked positively stunned. She cleared her throat after a moment to get his attention. "What can I get for you?" There was an air of amusement in her voice. This was one of the elder ladies who had been at Garden since the time most of the current SeeDs were enrolled, and she knew as well as the rest of them how addicted Zell Dincht was to his precious hotdogs.

"No...Not hungry anymore." Zell sighed, walking out of the line and towards an empty table. He saw a glimpse of blue out of the corner of his eye, and grinned, waving over towards it. "Hey, Rinoa!"

Rinoa looked over from her place near the back of the line and grinned, waving back as Zell walked over to her. "What's up?" she asked.

"Nothin'." he paused, a gleam coming to his eyes as he thought of something. "Hey Rinoa, listen, I lost my wallet, and if I go all the way back to find it and come back, all the hotdogs'll be gone. Could ya do me a favor and get me a few? I'll pay you back when I find my wallet." He felt no remorse in doing this. Dr. Kadowaki probably wouldn't find out, and Rinoa had no way of knowing his cholesterol levels.

"Sure." she answered after checking her pocket to make sure she had enough to pay for the extra food. Zell grinned again, punching the air in mock triumph.

"Yeah! Thanks!" he yelled excitedly, causing Rinoa to giggle. She seemed to be slightly distracted, but he barely noticed, too thrilled that he'd found a way to get his desired lunch. He did notice though, as the next few minutes went without either of them saying anything. It was a rare occurrence that Rinoa didn't playfully tease him about his hotdog obsession, or at least make some sort of conversation by teasing him about the library girl, who he still hadn't formed any relationship with beyond his version of a date, which was sitting down and cramming as many hotdogs as he could into his mouth while she watched. "You ok?" he asked, tilting his head.

She smiled and nodded, putting her hands in her pockets. "Yep, I'm fine." She didn't show it, but in her eyes she seemed to have just come to a conclusion to some sort of inner struggle. "Hey, have you seen Squall today? I've gotta talk to him about something, and I couldn't find him."

Zell thought for a few seconds before shrugging. "Nope. Probably in the Training Center though. I heard that he's managed to kill off a third of the T-Rexaurs in the last month!"

Rinoa smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

By then the line had progressed enough to where Rinoa could get their food, and after a quick lunch, they both headed out of the Cafeteria. Rinoa headed towards the dormitories to get her blaster edge so she could go to the Training Center, and Zell headed over to the Library to chat with his library girl, whose name he'd learned was Terri Gorrid.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm back! And screw that, I'm continuing this story and doing the other story as well. No idea what I was thinking when I had tried to combine them back then. And now when I think about it, I can't make it work. So, I'm back again, and hopefully I won't have such a long hiatus on updating again. Sorry about that, life was hectic, and I hope I can keep this story going. I'm going to revise the prologue, using some of the advice that people who reviewed suggested, so go back and read that before you read this one...which you probably will anyway since it's been so long. Thank you for those who did review before, and I'm going to ask everyone, old and new readers, to keep leaving reviews for me. Because everyone needs to know their story is being enjoyed. ^.^ Or not enjoyed. You can tell me if you don't like it or something, I just like reviews.

Disclaimer: They're not mine. But the plot is. Go away.

Chapter 2

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_It's okay if I tell him._ _He's not going to think of me any differently._ The interior of Balamb Garden had not changed in quite some time. There were places in the hallways that looked newer than others and there was better security and stronger doors for the Training Center, but that was the extent of any renovations that were made after the slew of dangerous missions and Garden being attacked as well as the monsters escaping from the Training Center. The same cool air flowed through the place, the same peaceful noises from the water going around the middle of the lower level was there. Rinoa found it very easy to understand why people would happily think of this as their home, especially the ones who had grown up there. But as much as she wanted to relax and join everyone in feeling at home and at peace, there was, for once, too much on her mind.

She had upgraded her blaster edge to its newest model when she had visited the town the other day. It was much like the older 'Rising Sun' model, except where the flame shapes were on the outside of that one, on this model the flames were smoother and rounder. _Like feathers._ she had thought when she saw it. It was also a different color scheme. Instead of red and orange, it was silver and white with a bit of black here and there. It was named 'Flier', and at the moment it was on Rinoa's arm and ready to be used.

She found herself standing outside of the Training Center, staring at the reinforced metal doors. It was such a simple idea to go inside, kill a few monsters, find Squall and tell him what she needed to. When it came down to actually doing so though, she was hesitating. What if the dreams really didn't mean anything? What if they did? Somehow by sharing the fact that they existed, it made them seem more important to her, made them seem more real. _Someone…I don't remember who...but someone said once that if you talk about bad things, they'll happen. _she thought, looking from the doors down to the blaster edge on her arm just to give herself something different to look at. _It's superstitious but what if it did happen? If I tell about this dream and it comes true, then I'm going to feel bad about it the rest of my life. But if I don't tell, and they are important, then what if I'm keeping information that people need?_ Rinoa shook her head to herself.

"They're just dreams!" she told herself out loud, bothered by the fact that she was dwelling so much over it. "Things in nightmares don't happen in real life, they just don't." That was said in a firmer voice, and she decided that she was done with thinking about it for the day. Resolved on the matter, she started to walk away from the Training Center when she heard the doors open behind her. She looked over to see who it was, and not to her surprise she saw a sweaty and dirty Squall watching her as he walked from the Center. His shirt was sticking to him a bit and he was carrying his usual black jacket over his shoulder and his gunblade was in his hand propped up against his shoulder. Though she knew he had been alright anyway, regardless of her nightmare, it still felt somewhat of a relief to her to see him standing there not wounded, and very much alive.

"Rinoa?" he said, obviously somewhat confused by seeing her standing there with an odd expression on her face and not saying anything.

"Hi," was all that she could think of to say. She put a smile on her face so that it might appear that nothing was on her mind, and the truth was she was trying to forget all about the dreams for now. "I just wanted to try out 'Flier'." She added, thinking it was a valid excuse for being in this part of Garden. "But then I remembered I need to walk Angelo first." She was getting worse and worse at being able to deceive him, and she could tell by the unphased, somewhat suspicious, look in his eyes that she had just failed at it again.

"…If you say so." he answered after a few seconds of considering. He kept walking, and when he caught up to her she walked beside him. If he didn't look so dirty she would have held his hand, but as it was it looked as though he hadn't cared if he got splattered with T-Rexaur blood or sprayed with bile from other monsters. At least that's what it smelled (and looked) like to her.

They walked back to the dormitory section of the Garden, and as usual Rinoa didn't stop following him. Usually once she located him during the day and he didn't seem too busy, she just stayed around him. Everyone else was usually doing something else or occupied with their personal lives. Quistis and her teaching, Zell with his awkward attempts at wooing Terri, and Selphie and Irvine with their new life together. As she reflected on that, she decided to try to start some conversation, since these odd silences between them were now…well, odd. Not common, like they had been when they first met.

"Selphie thinks she might have found a good house for them to live in." she commented, following Squall to his dorm. Squall, to anyone else, looked unconcerned and uncaring about that, but she could see the slight puzzlement on his face.

"I thought Cid gave her and Irvine one of the teacher's suites to live in." he answered. They walked into his dorm, which looked the same as it always did; neat and tidy and organized, except for a few notebooks lying around here and there. Rinoa never could figure out whether or not he was just a cleanly person to begin with or if it was from growing up in a military academy.

"Yeah, he did, but they want to settle down somewhere else in case…I mean, to make sure that they're not being too much of a problem. It'll make room for someone else to live here." That was close. She had almost let something slip that she had promised to keep a secret, and Rinoa was normally able to keep secrets very well. As she talked, she sat down on the edge of his bed and let him change his clothes or whatever he meant to do. It had taken a while, but eventually he had accepted the fact that Rinoa didn't mind invading his personal space. Sure she had given him privacy when he wanted it or asked for it, but most of the time she would stay around him regardless of what he happened to be doing. There were, of course, exceptions to this. If he was busy killing things in the Training Center, or talking to someone important, or doing his work for the Garden, she would leave him alone no questions asked. She was being allowed to live here because of her involvement in the Time Compression incident, but she knew that another reason for it was because she was so close to Squall. She had no real job in Garden, so she didn't want to get in the way at all.

He had gone into the attached bathroom with an armful of clothes from his drawers, and she could hear him start up a shower. He hadn't answered her again and she hoped she hadn't caused him to retreat into his own world of thoughts again, as he still did at times. She had a feeling that two of their friends moving away would affect him, but it had been almost three years now since events had brought everyone together. Events would draw them apart again sooner or later. It was sad, but it was also inevitable.

Since he probably couldn't hear her easily with the shower going, she just took the opportunity to flop backwards down onto his bed, almost hitting her head on the wall since she was sideways on it. It was softer than the one she had been sleeping on ever since she started staying in Balamb. And the blankets smelled like Squall. She occasionally slept here too though. They cared for each other deeply, and no one asked or thought anything of it when she wanted to be close to him at night too. She stared up at the ceiling as she waited for him to come out of the shower, smiling a little to herself and relaxing.

A few minutes later, after having closed her eyes to let herself doze off a little, her eyes snapped open when she felt a damp towel land on her face. "Hey!" she said, sitting up and pulling the towel down. She gave Squall a look that was half a playful glare and half looking like she was about to stick her tongue out at him. He was standing over at his clothes bin, looking over at her with an apparently confused expression, but there was the smallest of an upward curve to his lips; as close to a smile as he usually ever got, except for a few occasions.

"Sorry. Didn't notice you were there." he admitted. If Rinoa had seemed preoccupied earlier in the day, Squall was five times worse when his mind was elsewhere. At least he hadn't stayed in the shower for an hour, not realizing that time was going by as he was absorbed into his own thoughts. That was likely to happen if there was something troubling him.

"You did too, you big meany…" Rinoa grumbled as she got up, still a playful hint to her tone. She tossed the towel in his dirty clothes bin since she didn't know where else to put it. "I'm gonna go give Angelo that walk now. You should come too, it's been really nice outside today." And with that and a smile, she walked out of the dorm.

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Squall watched as Rinoa left his room, figuring that there really was no reason for him not to follow her. There was a lot on his mind that day. Bored as he was with his life, he automatically was thinking there were things wrong when there might not be, and wondering what the next brief mission might bring. But he knew when there was truly something bothering Rinoa. He had spent the past three years of his life being as close to her as he dared, unknowingly letting himself open up to her at various times that were becoming more and more regular as time went on. Those brown eyes that he so loved to gaze into were troubled today, and he didn't know why.

_It's probably Selphie moving away…_ he told himself in his head. _But we knew it would happen when she married Irvine. No one can live their whole life here, at least not that part._ But he couldn't help but to feel that there was something more. That sense of panic he had had that morning…could it have been hers? He knew their bond was strange. Occasionally, if she was feeling something strong enough, he'd get a sense of what it was even if he wasn't around her. It was the same for her. He recalled one incident in which he'd become absolutely furious at someone…it wasn't that long ago, actually. But afterwards, when he was talking to Rinoa, it had come up in their conversation and she admitted having felt a little angry for no reason. But it wasn't hers, and she had had no reason to be angry and she wasn't able to figure out why.

Sighing, the Commander shrugged into his coat and left his room. If there was one thing he was constantly reminding himself, it was to not think so much about things that were out of his control.

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A/N: So is it still good? Did you like it? Should I keep going? Well, I'll keep going regardless of whether or not I get reviews…but…pretend that I won't. ^.^ Click that review button over there, and leave whatever comment you want! Please?


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